Selangor Sultan unlikely to consent a Pakatan government post GE14

So potent are these words, it reflects just how cheesed off Malaysian rulers are with Dr Mahathir Mohamed, who amended the Federal Constitution on more than one occasion to undermine the Monarchical institution. His cohorts are doing the same to this very day.

In 1993, the former premier amended the constitution to strip the legal immunity Malaysian rulers enjoyed. A year later, he pushed through an amendment that allowed any Bill passed by the lower House of Parliament and the Senate to become law within 30 days irrespective if the Agong assented to it or otherwise.

Last year, Mahathir told the palace that he had in his possession a petition-cum-declaration that bore 1.2 million signatures of Malaysians who sought Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak’s unequivocal resignation from government. When he was finally granted and audience with the Agong, the signatures never materialised.

Quite recently, his lawyer, Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, publicly accused a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the Nineties Forex Scandal (NFS) of malicious intent. According to him, the RCI presented its findings to the Agong in a report that was incomplete, though the lawyer failed to explain just how he came to that conclusion.

The RCI was called by the Agong himself.

These acts of insolence by Mahathir and his men go a long way to demonstrate just how low the former premier’s regard is for the Monarchical institution. There is no way on earth that the King would ever allow Mahathir to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia.

As a matter of fact, there is absolutely no way Sultan Sharafuddin would ever allow Pakatan Harapan to lead Selangor past the 14th general election (GE14). Assuming that PPBM does not win a single seat in the state, the ruler will likely consent to a minority government led by UMNO as he is not inclined to approve a government that is not Malay based.

Of course, the scenario above applies only if Pakatan Harapan defeats Barisan Nasional in Selangor, which is more than unlikely to happen given the current state of political affairs. But let’s just assume for a moment that Pakatan does win – the ruler will likely opt for a minority government led by UMNO even if PPBM does win a seat or two in Selangor.

The reason being, a PPBM led government is synonymous to a Mahathir led government, which, in the ruler’s books, is a government capable of enacting laws that may be to the detriment of the institution he represents.

The ruler also told local daily The Star that the controversy surrounding Dr Mahathir’s reported remarks last October alluding to the Bugis community as pirates should not have happened.

“He has an inferiority complex and a deep hatred within him.

“He is just angry and his anger will burn the whole country,” Sultan Sharafuddin was quoted saying.

When asked if Dr Mahathir has apologised to him for the Bugis slur, the ruler said: “He never apologises”.

At Pakatan Harapan’s anti-kleptocracy rally on October 14, Dr Mahathir, who is now Pakatan Harapan chairman, reportedly compared the Bugis community to pirates.

The Opposition leader reportedly clarified later that not all Bugis were pirates and that he was only referring to the prime minister who is of the descent.

Sultan Sharafuddin told The Star that the Malay Rulers did not believe in vendettas, when asked if they were taking revenge now for Dr Mahathir’s move to curtail royal powers during his time in office back in the 1980s.

“God is great. He will show to the people. Back then my father told me, ‘today is his day, tomorrow will be our day.’”

The ruler said Dr Mahathir once claimed that too much money was spent on the monarchy.

“What about the forex losses? It is so much more,” Sultan Sharafuddin was quoted saying.

A royal commission of inquiry that recently investigated Bank Negara Malaysia’s foreign exchange (forex) losses more than 20 years ago in the early 1990s during the Mahathir administration had found that the central bank lost RM31.5 billion.

“For Dr Mahathir to want to destroy the foundations that supported him, makes him a very dangerous man,” said Sultan Sharafuddin.